There were plenty of empty seats at the opening ceremony (Picture: Getty)

The much-anticipated World Cup has got underway with the opening ceremony in Sao Paulo – but it left fans even more desperate for the football to get underway having failed to impress supporters.

The half-an-hour ceremony was far from a packed-out affair at the Estadio Itaquerao, with fans slowly filtering in as kick-off for the first match between Brazil and Croatia approached – and those who missed the opening party entirely, well, didn’t miss much.

Adults dressed as trees and raindrops had nature at the heart of the event, but with kids playing with football attached to strings and some suspect singing performances, it left few enthralled.